Think about the last time you made a choice that genuinely scared you. Maybe you spoke up when it would’ve been easier to stay quiet, or maybe you took a stand that put something important on the line. Those moments reveal more about who you are than a hundred comfortable days ever could.
Being brave matters. It’s not just about feeling good or proving something to ourselves. Bravery shapes our character, helps us live in alignment with what we believe, pushes us to develop as people, and creates ripples that can change the world around us. Read on to discover the importance of courage in our lives and our communities.
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#1: Courage Reveals Our Character and Values
In her book How We Learn to Be Brave, Mariann Edgar Budde explains that the moments when we choose to be brave are important because they serve as windows into our true character and values. When faced with a significant choice, the path we select reveals what we believe and care about, sometimes in ways that surprise even us. Such moments arise when our values come into conflict. For example, when loyalty to one commitment requires breaking another or when standing up for what we know is right demands a significant sacrifice. By navigating these tensions, we discover and demonstrate who we are.
(Shortform note: Budde’s insight that decisive moments reveal character aligns with Annie Dillard’s observation in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek that “how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” Each moment of courage functions like the creative process Dillard follows in her writing: We make an initial choice boldly, then must follow its path with both conviction and vulnerability as we live with the consequences. Like the writer who discovers their true thoughts only by following the path they’ve begun—confronting difficult truths and grappling with conflicting ideas that come up along the way—we come to understand and articulate our deepest values only when decisive moments call us to embody or abandon them.)
Budde shares the story of Henry Caffey, a Black railroad worker in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement. When Caffey’s daughter wanted to participate in the march from Selma to Montgomery, he faced a choice. He could either support her and risk losing his job, or he could discourage her involvement to protect his career. His choice to drive her to the march revealed his values of dignity, justice, and support. Most of our brave moments might not be as historically significant as Caffey’s, but they’re no less revealing of our character. Whether we’re choosing to speak an uncomfortable truth, remain faithful to a difficult commitment, or take a stand against injustice, our responses in these moments compose the narrative of our lives.
#2: Courage Allows Us to Live Authentically
At its heart, courage enables us to align our actions with our values. Budde contends that, without bravery, we often default to choices based on fear or convenience rather than conviction. Cultivating a strong alignment between who we are and how we live plays a fundamental role in our well-being and sense of fulfillment. When our actions consistently contradict our values, we experience what psychologists call “cognitive dissonance,” an uncomfortable internal conflict that generates anxiety, guilt, and dissatisfaction. Budde explains that courage is important because it helps us resolve this discord by choosing integrity even when it’s difficult.
(Shortform note: When our actions conflict with our values, the resulting psychological tension—cognitive dissonance—feels uncomfortable. To alleviate this discomfort, we can change our behavior to match our values, adjust our values to justify our behavior, or use rationalizations to bridge the gap between our values and our actions. Most people take the path of least resistance, revising their beliefs rather than changing their behavior. Budde’s idea of courage involves taking the higher road: Developing bravery helps us resolve dissonance by aligning our actions with our principles rather than compromising our values.)
Budde emphasizes that living authentically requires honest self-awareness and the willingness to act on what we discover when we look inward. We need to understand what matters most to us and then choose to honor those priorities in our actions. This might mean speaking an uncomfortable truth, setting boundaries in relationships, or taking risks to pursue what’s meaningful. Authentic living doesn’t require us to never experience fear or doubt. Rather, it means we develop the capacity to acknowledge these feelings without being controlled by them. We find courage, not in the absence of fear, but in our determination to move forward despite it—choosing what’s meaningful over what’s comfortable or safe.
(Shortform note: Budde’s insight that courage means acknowledging fear without letting it dictate our actions aligns with the idea of cognitive defusion, a tool that psychologists say helps us create distance between ourselves and our thoughts. Cognitive defusion emerges from the idea that our problems stem not from our thoughts themselves, but from our tendency to treat those thoughts as truths. When we recognize that we’re not defined by our thoughts, such as by saying, “I notice I’m having the thought that … ,” we learn to accept our fears without letting them rule us. Rather than waiting for our fears to disappear, cognitive defusion lets us move forward while our anxious thoughts come along for the ride.)
#3: Courage Helps Us Grow
Budde points out that courage is also important because of its connection to personal development. Without the willingness to be brave—to face challenges, embrace vulnerability, and step into the unknown—we constrain our growth. Whether we’re developing new skills, deepening relationships, confronting personal weaknesses, or pursuing ambitious goals, growth requires us to risk failure and face our fears. Budde contends that each time we choose courage over comfort, we open doors to development that would otherwise remain closed.
This relationship works both ways: Courage enables growth, and growth empowers us to be courageous. As we overcome challenges, we build confidence in our ability to face future difficulties. Each brave choice creates a positive cycle where courage leads to growth, which in turn makes future courage more accessible—and helps us become wiser and more resilient.
In his book High Performance Habits, Brendon Burchard makes a similar point. He writes that courageous people embrace hardship and don’t complain about their work. They know that their actions serve a purpose and focus on the good they’re doing over the difficulty of their present circumstances. On the other hand, uncourageous people fear hardship and frequently complain about their work. They don’t have a clear purpose for their actions and are too focused on the difficulty of their present circumstance to look to the future.
Burchard further argues that courageous people act quickly in a crisis. They don’t let the circumstances overwhelm them and respond to the needs of others. Uncourageous people freeze up in a crisis. They let the circumstances overwhelm them and focus on their own needs over the needs of others.
(Shortform note: Courage sometimes demands living at an operatic scale and making choices that change who we are. Novelist Alexander Chee explains that opera presents human experiences with larger-than-life intensity and dramatic consequences—as when his protagonists choose acts of courage that force a complete realignment of identity. In The Queen of the Night, Chee’s protagonist undergoes transformations from farm girl to circus performer to opera star. Similarly, in Edinburgh, a soprano in a boys’ choir faces difficult truths about trauma and identity. Chee explains that both novels follow characters “wrestling with fate,” illustrating that bravery sometimes involves participating in life-changing events.)
Burchard echoes some of Budde’s sentiments and bravery and personal development. He contends that courageous people take active steps towards growth, even when those steps require risk. This allows them to develop skills quickly and leads them down avenues they may not have known about before. On the other hand, uncourageous people take steps towards growth only if there’s no risk involved. This prevents them from developing quickly and shuts them out of avenues that could have benefited their development.
Courage Helps Us Make Decisions and Take Action
At the heart of Budde’s understanding of courage is that we all experience “decisive moments”—turning points in our lives when we exercise agency rather than operating on autopilot. Burchard makes a more direct point: Courageous people make quick decisions and take decisive action. Even in the face of fear or adversity, they don’t just talk about doing something. They actually do it, even if they’re afraid.
On the flip side, Burchard contends that uncourageous people don’t make decisions or take action. They often talk about doing something, but they rarely actually do it, usually out of fear of failure, judgment, or retaliation.
How Courageous Choices Shape Our Lives
Budde contends that the pivotal choices we make shape who we are and who we become, and our decisions alter the trajectory of our lives. As she explains, when we choose to act with courage, we often unlock hidden strengths and discover new possibilities we couldn’t previously imagine. These brave moments look different for everyone. For some, it might mean speaking truth to power or standing against injustice. For others, it might involve leaving a comfortable job to pursue a calling, committing to a challenging relationship, or facing difficult circumstances with dignity.
(Shortform note: Brave choices don’t just change your circumstances; they rewire your brain. Because brains reorganize themselves in response to experiences, you can intentionally build traits such as courage by internalizing positive experiences. After making a brave choice, take 20 to 30 seconds to absorb the moment. This helps cement that act of courage into your neural architecture. This process counters the brain’s natural “negativity bias,” which makes negative experiences stick while positive ones slip away. By savoring the experience of bravery—staying with it longer, thinking about why it matters, or feeling it more intensely—you strengthen the neural pathways associated with courage.)
#4: Courage Inspires Others
In their book The Power of Moments, Chip Heath and Dan Heath write that, when you put in the hard work to practice courage, you just might inspire someone else to do the same. It’s human nature to be wary of going against the status quo; we want to blend in with what everyone else is doing, no matter if it’s right or wrong. However, people are much more likely to have confidence in their own beliefs—even if they are unpopular—if they see someone else lending support to those same beliefs. Likewise, people are much more likely to do the right thing after they have observed someone else doing so; justice suddenly becomes much more important than blending in.
(Shortform note: Being able to “spread” feelings or actions in this way is a result of the mirror neuron system, which directs the brain to mirror others’ actions. This system comes from early in our evolution when humans depended on being part of a group for survival. Mimicry—especially of positive, or prosocial, behaviors—helped humans assimilate into groups by creating a sense of similarity and bonding. Due to your mirror neuron system, observing others’ actions prompts your brain to rehearse the action as if you were doing it yourself. In other words, by acting with courage, you subconsciously help another person to practice their moment of courage.)
Courage is contagious. The Heaths contend that, when you create a defining moment of pride for yourself with courage, you also create a defining moment for someone else who is shaped by the experience of seeing someone else stand up for what’s right and inspire them to do the same.
#5: Courage Changes the World
According to Budde, courage remakes our internal landscapes—how we understand ourselves and our place in the world. The ripple effects of our choices then extend beyond our own lives. When we act courageously, we can inspire others, challenge broken systems, and create positive change in our communities. By developing courage, we expand our capacity to contribute to the world in meaningful ways.
Budde understands that, in addition to being a personal virtue, courage is a spiritual practice and a tool for effecting social change. She explains that courage is important because it helps us transcend our individual concerns and connect to something larger than ourselves, enabling us to make choices that serve not only our own interests but the common good.
Example: Railroad Workers in the Civil Rights Movement
While Budde highlights Caffey’s bravery and the values it revealed, his story connects to a broader history of African American railroad workers whose courage collectively advanced civil rights in America. The railroad industry had relied on Black workers since before the Civil War, often building southern railroads using slave labor. In the 20th century, those still working in the railroad industry had more economic stability than many other Black Americans. By the 1920s, more than 20,000 African Americans worked as Pullman porters and other train personnel, making railroad work the largest category of Black labor in the US at the time.
Despite their stable employment, workers such as Caffey navigated a work environment that challenged their dignity. Pullman porters, for example, endured grueling 400-hour work months while being called demeaning names such as “boy” or “George.” They organized for labor rights through unions such as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and what made railroad workers especially instrumental to the Civil Rights Movement was their mobility. As they traversed the country, they became information conduits, transporting news and resources between Black communities. This positioned workers such as Caffey to understand the broader struggle and to recognize moments where courage could contribute to collective progress.
In 1988, Caffey participated in preserving the legacy of this important contribution to the Civil Rights Movement when he joined other former railroad workers to record traditional “gandy dancer” work songs. Caffey also shared “intense” recollections of race relations during his time working on the railroad, demonstrating his commitment to bearing witness to both the struggles and cultural contributions of Black workers. Caffey’s choices reflect how African American railroad workers often applied their courage, connections, and strategic understanding to advance the broader struggle for dignity and equality.
Example: The Quakers
Budde’s exploration of personal growth resonates with traditions of courage in the Quakers. For them, courage doesn’t manifest itself in dramatic gestures but through consistent choices to embody your values with your actions—what some Quakers call “letting your life speak.” They believe that true heroism derives from conviction in a just cause and solidarity with others who share that conviction. This collective dimension of courage reflects Budde’s insight that brave choices create ripple effects beyond our personal lives.
The Quaker tradition also emphasizes discernment rather than dogma: Instead of rigid rules, Quakers are tasked with making thoughtful choices. This focus on living one’s values has historically positioned Quakers at the forefront of social movements. Long before it was socially acceptable, Quakers stood against slavery (the first documented protest against North American chattel slavery was by Quakers in 1688), promoted gender equality in the 1700s, and pioneered prison reform. Their willingness to take a stand despite social opposition exemplifies the kind of courage Budde describes as necessary for both personal growth and social transformation.
Learn More About the Importance of Courage
To better understand why courage matters in a broader context, check out Shortform’s guides to the books we’ve referenced in this article:
- How We Learn to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde
- High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard
